Baltimore Orioles Reveal Corbin Burnes' Jersey Number
Joining a new team can be disruptive for MLB players, especially when they're not expecting it. They have to uproot their entire lives, pack up and move to another city at a moment's notice.
Talk about stress.
Compared to finding a new place to live and a new school for their kids, deciding what to do about a uniform number is extremely minor, even if it matters to fans.
Two players can't have the same jersey number, so it's not uncommon for players to change numbers when they join new teams. Otherwise, a player on the team has to give up his number, which can be awkward, especially in a superstitious sport like baseball.
The Baltimore Orioles just ran into this problem with Corbin Burnes, although it's obviously a good problem to have. Burnes wore No. 39 with the Milwaukee Brewers, but the Orioles already had a pitcher wearing the same number -- Kyle Bradish.
Two pitchers with the same number and a last name that starts with the same letter on the same team? What are the chances?
Given Burnes' status as one of the best pitchers in baseball and a former Cy Young winner, Bradish wisely deferred to his more talented teammate.
Burnes will get to keep his No. 39, while Bradish will switch to No. 38.
No. 38 has been vacant in Baltimore for several seasons now. The last player to wear it was outfielder Mason Williams in 2020, and it did him no favors based on his .333 OPS that year.
Hopefully Bradish has more luck with the new number than Williams did.
